Architecture in Poland 1572-1764

T

he years 1572-1764 were of particular importance to the shaping of the Polish architectural landscape. Several times more structures were erected then than in medieval Poland. The intensity of building activity around 1600 was the result of the excellent economic situation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at that time.

Nevertheless, even during a deep crisis, which affected the Polish economy after a series of devastating wars in the middle of the seventeenth century, means were found for new architectural foundations. The years 1740-70 saw the next building boom in Poland, caused by lasting peace and economic growth. Architectural activity in the Commonwealth in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries would not have developed to such an extent had the initiative and scale of building been motivated solely by utilitarian reasons. Edifices sprang u p in those days beyond actual need.

For example, medieval churches preserved in good state were demolished to be replaced by more impressive ones. Palaces were almost incessantly expanded by new wings and rooms not so much for greater comfort to their residents as for enhancing the stately character of those structures. All of these enterprises were an expression of the high status assigned to architectural foundations in the hierarchy of human activities.

The Aristotelian thesis that the erection of magnificent buildings is a deed particu­

larly worthy of great men found ready followers in Poland. Splendid churches, public edifices, and residences constituted specific memorials to their founders. Founders were commemorated on buildings by inscribed tablets, armorial bearings, or even choices of subjects for sculptural decoration. The stateliness of a building was perceived relatively. Only a large church or a pompous residence would be regarded as a fitting monument to a magnate. An owner of no more than one village would be admired for founding a small wooden church. A very important role in the development of Catholic and Orthodox Church architecture was played by the so­called theology of merit. In the light of this doctrine, the erection of a church to the greater glory of God was deemed a good work of exceptional rank that could decide the founder's salvation. Although this kind of thinking was in manifest contradiction to Protestant theology, it also frequently influenced decisions to build new Protestant churches.

Vigorous building activity in the Polish territories brought about the need for a great many architects who would carry out numerous commissions and who were expected to meet various requirements, depending on the affluence, education, and artistic con­

sciousness of their clients. The most powerful of these patrons, representing the elite of state authority or higher clergy, could usually boast fairly extensive knowledge in the field of architecture, acquired for the most part by reading architectural treatises and by journeys to the main art centers in Europe. Their tastes would not be satisfied by the professional abilities of the builders trained in the Polish guilds that had not managed to adjust their educational system to the development of modern art. Despite his efforts King John III Sobieski did not succeed in establishing an academy of art in Poland. It remained only to bring architects from abroad or to send young Poles for training to the leading centers of European art. Such expensive and complex measures were taken by very few investors; the majority of magnates sought to casually employ foreign architects.

Among the architects invited from abroad, the Italians predominated. These were above all Luganese and Ticinians (Giovanni Trevano, Matteo Trappola, Giuseppe Simone Belotti, Paolo Antonio Fontana), many of whom boasted training in

ARCHITECTURE

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1572­1764

PlOTR KRASNY

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Originalveröffentlichung in: Ostrowski, Jan K. (Hrsg.): Land of the winged horsemen : art in Poland 1572-1764, New Haven; London 1999, S. 81-97

the Roman circle (Matteo Castelli, Constante Tencalla, Carlo Antonio Bay), and also native Romans (Giovanni Battista Gisleni, Pompeo Ferrari, Francesco Placidi). A great many architects working in the Commonwealth in the eighteenth century came from the German states, chiefly from Saxony (Carl Friedrich Poppelmann, Johann Sigmund Deybel, Johann Friedrich Knobel, Johann Heinrich Klemm) and from the Bohemian- Austrian circle (Karl Martin Franz, Bernard Meretyn, Johann Christoph Glaubitz, Joseph Horsch). In that century also a small number of French masters reached Poland (Pierre Ricaud de Tirregaille). Tylman van Gameren, a prominent architect active in the Polish territories in the second half of the seventeenth century, was a Dutchman trained both at home and in Italy. Talented young Poles were sent for architectural studies above all to the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, which enabled Kacper Bazanka, among others, to develop his great talent. N u m e r o u s Poles studying at western European knights' academies became acquainted with the principles of building fortifications and studied the general rudiments of architecture.

Architects trained in guilds could but sporadically secure prestigious commis­

sions. Those artists sometimes worked for powerful customers who did not attach great importance to the artistic quality of a building. They were mainly engaged by a less affluent clientele: minor gentry, burghers, and religious minorities. Their relatively low fees were made u p for by the great number of their commissions. For example, in the first half of the seventeenth century architects from the Lublin guild erected in the town's environs scores of churches and more than a dozen synagogues of highly stan­

dardized forms.

A dynamic development of building activities in the Commonwealth in the baroque period required the legal and institutional establishment of architects' working condi­

tions. State authorities, however, had laid down no up­to­date building regulations, while those of the medieval Magdeburg Law were quite unsuitable for the new condi­

tions. Therefore, a considerable role in the shaping of the Polish building market was played by a system of precedents that permitted the evasion of the obsolete rules.

The Magdeburg Law prescribed that all architects should belong to builders' guilds. In the modern era guild architects were relegated to the background of Polish artistic life; nevertheless, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries guilds were active in all large towns of the Commonwealth and also in dozens of smaller centers.

One of a guild's obligations was to ensure a uniform distribution of commissions among its members. The most gifted and resourceful architects considered the guild system a serious restriction on their creative opportunities, so they endeavored to evade the necessity of guild membership. Municipal authorities enforced this obligation effectively only in the seventeenth century and exclusively in certain centers, such as Gdansk, Toruh, Lublin, and Lvov.

It was extremely advantageous for an architect to obtain the so­called servitorate, a permanent employment at the court of the king, a magnate, or a bishop. Such a job ensured an artist regular wages and also a kind of advertisement when he was seek­

ing additional commissions on his own. The title of royal servitor was of particular importance to an architect, as it protected its bearer from any claims on the part of guild authorities throughout the country. Hence numerous architects w h o were not actually connected with the Court solicited to obtain a formal royal servitorate. In the seventeenth century such a privilege could be granted for one's services to the Com­

monwealth, for instance for participation in a campaign as an engineer-constructor of fortifications. In the following century royal servitorates were granted in recognition of architects' professional skills. Having obtained such a title, an architect was per­

mitted to establish a building firm that accepted independent commissions. This kind of activity was as a rule undertaken by the most ambitious and talented masters (P.

Ferrari, K. A. Bay, Bernard Meretyn, J. C. Glaubitz) who consequently, around the middle of the eighteenth century, gained control of the building market in numerous centers, securing the most prestigious commissions.

Poland was the arena of activity of relatively numerous architects w h o were members of monastic orders and congregations, working primarily for their own communities but from time to time accepting commissions from other clients as well.

In the first half of the seventeenth century this group included mainly architects from Italy (Giovanni Maria Bernardoni, Giuseppe Bricio, Giacomo Briano) and from the Habs­

burg lands. However, Polish congregations soon began to send their own talented novices to study architecture in Rome, Prague, and other art centers, enabling them to have quite a large group of highly trained Polish architects (Bartlomiej Wasowski, Pawel Gizycki, Tomasz Zebrowski) at their disposal. In addition, notable designs in civil archi­

tecture were made by some military engineers serving in the Polish army (Jan de Witte).

The architects representing these categories worked for different groups of clien­

tele, which considerably limited the mutual influence of their creative work. Those trained outside the Commonwealth used the forms obtaining in their respective cen­

ters of education without modifying them substantially. Local guild masters were for the most part unable to understand let alone assimilate in full the imported solutions.

It is no wonder that Polish architecture of the baroque period exhibited a wide spec­

trum of concurrently used forms. Hence its history cannot be presented as a simple sequence of successive stylistic trends. One should rather point out and describe the most important phenomena occurring in town planning and in urban building as well as in sacred and residential architecture.

The network of large towns in the Commonwealth developed in full during the Mid­

dle Ages. Despite economic prosperity, around 1600 no center had been created that would deserve to be called a metropolis. It was mainly the large cities of Royal Prus­

sia (eastern Pomerania), Toruh and Gdansk, that benefited from the favorable cir­

cumstances; there are hence numerous houses in those two centers whose effective forms recalled Netherlandish mannerist architecture. In addition, the propitious eco­

nomic situation influenced the transformation of numerous small towns including Lowicz, Kazimierz Dolny, Jaroslaw, Wschowa, Nowy Sa.cz, and Krosno, in which wooden houses were supplanted by several­story brick structures.

A slump in the Polish economy, deepening after the middle of the seventeenth century, affected mainly the middle class. Impoverished burghers were unable to maintain their real property. Magnates and gentry as well as the Roman Catholic Church were interested in purchasing those grounds, the Church counting on fruitful pastoral work in churches situated amid multitudes of the faithful. The Gdansk and Toruh authorities, using their special municipal rights, effectively hindered the process of acquiring urban lots by such purchasers. They realized that this would lead to a decrease in economic activity and tax revenue in their cities. However, the remaining

l a r g e cities of t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h failed to c o n t r o l t h e p u r c h a s e of t h e i r g r o u n d s b y m a g n a t e s , g e n t r y , a n d t h e C h u r c h . O l d m e d i e v a l s t r u c t u r e s w e r e s u p p l a n t e d in t h e m b y ecclesiastical a n d r e s i d e n t i a l a r c h i t e c t u r e . T o w a r d t h e e n d of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y t h e r e w e r e s i x t y - f o u r c h u r c h e s in C r a c o w , a n d o n e t h i r d of t h e t o w n ' s a r e a b e l o n g e d to v a r i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n s of t h e R o m a n C a t h o l i c C h u r c h . D u r i n g t h e b a r o q u e p e r i o d t h e O l d T o w n in Lublin w a s s u r r o u n d e d b y a r i n g of n u m e r o u s c h u r c h e s a n d m o n a s t e r i e s s p r e a d i n g a l m o s t u n i n t e r r u p t e d l y a l o n g t h e city walls. S o m e h o u s e s in t h e m a r k e t s q u a r e s of L v o v a n d C r a c o w w e r e c o m p e l l e d to g i v e w a y to t h e p a l a c e s of m a g n a t e s a n d h i g h e r clergy. T h o s e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s w e r e n o t a c c o m p a n i e d b y a n y a t t e m p t s to r e g u l a t e u r b a n l a y o u t s . Significantly, d u r i n g t h e r e b u i l d i n g of V i l n i u s (Wilno) a f t e r a d i s a s t r o u s 1737 fire t h e chaotic a n d n o n f u n c t i o n a l m e d i e v a l p l a n of t h e city w a s r e t a i n e d .

T h e p l a n of W a r s a w in t h e m o d e r n e r a e v o l v e d in a v e r y s p e c i a l w a y . It w a s d e c i d e d in 1569 t h a t all p a r l i a m e n t a r y m e e t i n g s w o u l d b e h e l d in this city. T h e n c e f o r t h W a r s a w w a s t h e chief c e n t e r of political life in P o l a n d a n d w i t h t i m e also t h e r e s i d e n c e of t h e royal court. This c o n t r i b u t e d to t h e r a p i d e x p a n s i o n of t h e city, in w h i c h m a g n a t e p a l a c e s w e r e p u t u p a l o n g w i t h c h u r c h e s a n d m o n a s t e r i e s of t h e o r d e r s a n d c o n g r e­ g a t i o n s t h a t s t r o v e to s e t t l e in t h e n e w c a p i t a l . T h e a r e a of t h e m e d i e v a l O l d T o w n , e n c l o s e d b y a t i g h t r i n g of walls, w a s filled u p w i t h b u r g h e r h o u s e s a n d r e l i g i o u s b u i l d i n g s . N e w e d i f i c e s w e r e e r e c t e d a l o n g t h e K r a k o w s k i e P r z e d m i e s c i e , t h e t h o r ­ o u g h f a r e l e a d i n g to C r a c o w , a n d a l o n g W i e r z b o w a a n d M i o d o w a Streets, t h e r o a d s l e a d i n g o u t of t h e city a n d r u n n i n g w e s t w a r d . In a d d i t i o n , a r o u n d t h e n u c l e u s of t h e capital t h e r e s p r a n g n u m e r o u s jurydyki ( p r i v a t e s e t t l e m e n t s ) t h a t w e r e n o t subject to t h e m u n i c i p a l a u t h o r i t i e s . W h e n b u i l d i n g o u t s i d e t h e w a l l s of m e d i e v a l W a r s a w , t h e i n v e s t o r w a s n o t restricted b y m u n i c i p a l b u i l d i n g r e g u l a t i o n s r e l a t i n g to t h e size of t h e lot a n d s t r u c t u r e s e r e c t e d o n it. C o n s e q u e n t l y , in t h e s e v e n t e e n t h a n d e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s , p a l a c e s of t h e c a p i t a l w e r e f o r t h e m o s t p a r t e x t e n s i v e c o u n t r y r e s i d e n c e s w i t h l a r g e c o u r t y a r d s a n d g a r d e n s . T h e s p a t i a l l a y o u t of W a r s a w a c q u i r e d t h e r e b y t h e c h a r a c t e r of a c h a o t i c a c c u m u l a t i o n of h a p h a z a r d e l e m e n t s . T h e first a t t e m p t s t o r e g u l a t e it w e r e m a d e b y K i n g s L a d i s l a s IV a n d J o h n C a s i m i r , w h o c o n v e r t e d t h e K r a k o w s k i e P r z e d m i e s c i e i n t o a s p e c i f i c " f o r u m , " a m o n u m e n t to t h e V a s a d y n a s t y a n d a n u r b a n s e t t i n g f o r s t a t e c e r e m o n i e s . T h e e x c e p t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r of t h e s t r e e t w a s a c c e n t u a t e d b y d o m i n a n t s p a t i a l e l e m e n t s : s p l e n d i d e d i f i c e s a n d m e m o r i a l s , t h e m o s t r e m a r k a b l e of t h e latter b e i n g t h e S i g i s m u n d III C o l u m n , set u p at its n o r t h e r n e d g e . T h e r e g u l a t i o n of W a r s a w o n a m u c h w i d e r s c a l e w a s u n d e r t a k e n b y K i n g s A u g u s t u s II a n d A u g u s t u s III, w h o to this e n d established t h e B a u a m t (court b u i l d i n g of­

fice). N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e r e s u l t s of t h e s e a c t i v i t i e s p r o v e d to b e r a t h e r m o d e s t e x c e p t f o r t h e a m b i t i o u s 1715 u r b a n l a y o u t called t h e S a x o n Axis. T h e c o r e of it w a s f o r m e d b y t h r e e s t r e e t s in t h e i n n o v a t o r y r a d i a l a r r a n g e m e n t , c e n t e r e d o n t h e n e w r o y a l p a l a c e . In p r a c t i c e t h e S a x o n A x i s w a s s e p a r a t e d f r o m t h e g e n e r a l l y a c c e s s i b l e u r b a n a r e a , b e c o m i n g p r i n c i p a l l y a g r o u n d f o r m i l i t a r y r e v i e w s a n d c o u r t festivities. It m a y t h e r e f o r e b e s a i d t h a t u n t i l t h e close of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y t h e e n t i r e W a r s a w c o n u r b a t i o n , e x c e p t for t h e O l d T o w n a r e a , r e p r e s e n t e d t h e t y p e of r e s i d e n t i a l city c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of C e n t r a l E u r o p e a n c a p i t a l s . C e r e m o n i a l a r t e r i e s f l a n k e d b y m o n u ­ m e n t a l e d i f i c e s c o n t r a s t e d w i t h d i s o r d e r l y , l o o s e b u i l d i n g in t h e r e m a i n i n g u r b a n a r e a s s i m i l a r l y as in D r e s d e n , M u n i c h , o r M a l a S t r a n a in P r a g u e .

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1. Aerial Photograph a n d City Plan of Zamosc, f o u n d e d in 1580

T h i s l a r g e t o w n w a s b u i l t in a d o z e n o r s o y e a r s , f o l l o w i n g t h e p a t t e r n of Italian R e n a i s s a n c e " i d e a l c i t i e s , " a s t h e c e n t e r of t h e l a r g e s t m a g n a t e e s t a t e in t h e P o l i s h - L i t h u a n i a n C o m m o n w e a l t h .

The period 1572-1764 saw the establishment of at least 250 new towns, but they were with very few exceptions no more than settlements of local importance, fre­

quently lacking a proper economic base. Most of them were founded as private towns, functioning as small administrative centers for landed property. A marked proportion of those foundations were not decided by economic reasons alone; the rise of a new town was a considerable enterprise in terms of money and organization, thereby bearing eloquent testimony to the founder's power. A new town could make an exceptionally impressive monument dignifying the founder and his family. The monumental func­

tion of a town found expression in its name, referring to the founder's surname (Zamosc, Zotkiew Sieniawa, Potok Zloty), to his armorial bearing (Pilawa), or to important events in the history of his family. The names of m o n u m e n t towns were especially frequently derived from first names, with the adoption of possessive forms characteristic of the Polish language (Tomaszow, Stanistawow) or the inven­

tion of structures borrowed from Greek (Annopol, Teofilpol).

When designing monument towns, ceremonial considerations were given priority over a functional urban layout. Thus the Renaissance conception of an ideal city, enclosed within a regular figure with a regular, rectilinear gridiron of streets, enjoyed great popularity in Poland. In the seventeenth century as a rule endeavors were made to fill this attractive layout with sumptuous edifices (Zamosc [fig. 1 ], Zolkiew, Stanistawow).

The following century still witnessed the foundation of splendid ideal towns (Sieniawa), but there also occurred some situations demonstrating the absurdity of this concept. For instance, single­story wooden cottages and barns were built into the regular network of streets in Frampol, and the accurately measured lots were never built upon at Krzeszow on the River San.

A R C H I T E C T U R E I N P O L A N D 85

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2. Bernard Meretyn, Town Hall, Buczacz, c. 1750

This stately rococo building repeats the forms used in Polish t o w n halls from the sixteenth century, the compact block of the edifice being s u r m o u n t e d by a lofty tower. The rich sculpted decoration by Johann Georg Pinsel expresses ideas quite alien to burgher art, glorifying the Potocki family, the o w n e r s of the t o w n of Buczacz.

The spatial composition of monument towns was sometimes also based on the system of dominant points. In the skyline of a settlement it was sought to bring to prominence the owner's residence and its symbolic pendant, the church constituting the tomb, "the house of eternal residence" for the family owning the town. To this end, tall towers were sometimes added to a residence and a church as at Rzeszow. In most towns these two structures were distinguished against modest burgher architecture by their impressive brick construction. The road linking the dwelling with the church was usually one of main streets in the town, occasionally taking the form of a regular, clear- cut urban axis.

The end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth centuries saw the creation of small private country towns in the western border regions of the Com­

monwealth (Rakoniewice, Nowa Czestochowa) in which large groups of craftsmen of one specialty were settled. These small towns were built on a very regular checker­

board plan filled with typified artisan houses whose gable walls, with arcades in front of them, faced the street.

In consequence of the economic decline of the Polish towns, which began in the second half of the seventeenth century, only very few splendid public edifices were erected in them. Among more prominent examples of Polish architecture from the sev­

enteenth and eighteenth centuries one can indicate no more than a few town halls. In 1701 Tylman van Gameren merely, though considerably, remodeled the town hall in Warsaw, enclosing it with a regular rectangle of brick market stalls. Around the mid­

dle of the century similar stall complexes were built in the markets of smaller towns in the eastern regions of the Polish republic including Brzezany, Husiatyn, and Wlodawa.

A stately town hall did not fit in with the concept of a private monument town, which was expected to attest to its owner's power and not to the idea of municipal gov­

ernment. Splendid towered town halls were erected in only a few private towns at the centers of large estates (Zamosc, Leszno, Stanislawow) to accomodate the admistrative staff of those latifundia, functioning like the government of independent principalities.

Such a specific function was performed by the town hall at Buczacz (fig. 2), which in addition to its grand architectural form was remarkable for its elaborate sculptural decoration. This decoration extolled in an allegorical manner the Potocki family, the owners of Buczacz, by which the edifice largely lost its municipal character, becoming instead a pompous monument to a magnate family.

Toward the close of the sixteenth century the inhabitants of the multinational Com­

monwealth professed various religious beliefs. The Poles and Lithuanians were Roman Catholic or adhered to the Protestant Reformation in its several variants (Lutheranism, Calvinism, Unitarianism), the Ruthenians were Orthodox, while the Armenians had their national Church following the Monophysite doctrine. The Jews professed Judaism, the Tatars Islam, and a very small Karaite community their own national religion based on the Old Testament but in a different interpretation from that given by the Jewish tradition. This pluralistic image underwent considerable modifi­

cation in the subsequent century. The Counter­Reformation measures taken by the Roman Catholic Church reduced the domain of Protestantism to a few centers in the country. Beginning with 1596, Orthodox believers gradually accepted the union with the Holy See, establishing on the Polish territories the Greek Catholic (Uniate) Church.

86

In 1630 t h e P o l i s h A r m e n i a n s also s u b m i t t e d to t h e p o p e b u t r e t a i n e d their o w n liturgy.

T h e r e f o r e t h e ecclesiastical a r c h i t e c t u r e in Polish l a n d s w a s c h a r a c t e r i z e d b y a w i d e v a r i e t y of c h u r c h t y p e s a d j u s t e d to t h e l i t u r g y a n d t r a d i t i o n s of p a r t i c u l a r reli­ g i o n s . T h e d o m i n a t i n g p o s i t i o n of t h e R o m a n C a t h o l i c C h u r c h w a s m a n i f e s t e d in t h o u s a n d s of c h u r c h e s b u i l t all o v e r t h e c o u n t r y . S y n a g o g u e s also w e r e e r e c t e d in t h e t o w n s of a l m o s t t h e w h o l e of t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h . In t h e e a s t e r n p a r t of t h e s t a t e U n i a t e a n d O r t h o d o x c h u r c h e s p r e d o m i n a t e d ; b e s i d e s , a d o z e n ­ o d d A r m e n i a n c h u r c h e s w e r e b u i l t there. A s m a l l n u m b e r of L u t h e r a n c h u r c h e s a p p e a r e d in G r e a t P o l a n d a n d Royal P r u s s i a (eastern P o m e r a n i a ) , w h i l e C a l v i n i s t o n e s w e r e p u t u p in t h e n o r t h of L i t h u a n i a . In L i t h u a n i a , too, m o d e s t m o s q u e s w e r e e r e c t e d for t h e T a t a r s a n d kenessahs for t h e Karaites.

A r o u n d 1600, R o m a n C a t h o l i c s a c r e d a r c h i t e c t u r e in t h e Polish r e p u b l i c w a s still d o m i n a t e d b y s o l u t i o n s clearly d e p e n d e n t o n t h e m e d i e v a l t r a d i t i o n . In P o d o l i a t h e r e e v e n a p p e a r e d c h u r c h e s t h a t w e r e G o t h i c in f o r m b u t w h o s e d e c o r a t i v e d e t a i l c o m ­ b i n e d m e d i e v a l a n d m o d e r n m o t i f s e x e m p l i f i e d b y t h e p a r i s h c h u r c h e s at D u n a j o w , B r z e z a n y , a n d P o d a j c e . T h r o u g h o u t t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h , c h u r c h e s w e r e p u t u p t h a t in their spatial d i s p o s i t i o n referred to m e d i e v a l c a n o n s but in their stylistic attire w e r e c o n s i s t e n t l y m o d e r n . T h e b o d i e s of t h e m o s t s p l e n d i d c h u r c h e s w e r e g i v e n t h e f o r m of a basilica as in B e r n a r d o M o r a n d o ' s collegiate c h u r c h in Z a m o s c , 1578­1600, or a hall.

A s p a t i a l a r r a n g e m e n t of this k i n d p e r s i s t e d for a p a r t i c u l a r l y l o n g t i m e in c h u r c h e s of t h e r e l i g i o u s o r d e r s of m e d i e v a l o r i g i n , s u c h as t h e D o m i n i c a n s a n d F r a n c i s c a n s . M o r e m o d e s t p a r i s h c h u r c h e s a s a r u l e h a d n o aisles. T h e i r v a u l t s w e r e d e c o r a t e d w i t h a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t u c c o n e t w o r k p a t t e r n ( e v o l v e d in t h e circle of L u b l i n g u i l d a r c h i t e c t s ) , a n d t h e i r g a b l e s w i t h m a s s e d v o l u t e s a n d o b e l i s k ­ s h a p e d f i n i a l s .

S i d e b y s i d e w i t h c h u r c h e s of t r a d i t i o n a l f o r m t h e r e a p p e a r e d in R o m a n C a t h o l i c s a c r e d a r c h i t e c t u r e s o m e s o l u t i o n s i n s p i r e d b y Italian m a n n e r i s t a n d e a r l y b a r o q u e s t r u c t u r e s . O n e s u c h e x a m p l e is t h e collegiate c h u r c h at K l i m o n t o w p e r h a p s b y L o r e n z o S e n e s (1643­50), b u i l t o n a n e f f e c t i v e o v a l p l a n closely r e s e m b l i n g t h a t in o n e of O t t a v i a n o M a s c h e r i n o ' s d r a f t d e s i g n s .

N e w s p a t i a l a r r a n g e m e n t s a n d f a c a d e c o m p o s i t i o n s in c h u r c h e s , as a r u l e r e f e r r i n g to R o m a n a r c h i t e c t u r e of a b o u t 1600, w e r e i n t r o d u c e d a b o v e all b y t h e r e l i g i o u s c o n ­ g r e g a t i o n s e s t a b l i s h e d d u r i n g t h e C o u n t e r ­ R e f o r m a t i o n . A n e x c e p t i o n a l role h e r e fell to t h e Jesuits. T h e s p a t i a l d i s p o s i t i o n a n d f a c a d e s of s o m e of their c h u r c h e s , s u c h as G.

M . B e r n a r d o n i ' s C o r p u s C h r i s t i C h u r c h at N i e s w i e z , 1586­99, o r t h e c h u r c h of Saints P e t e r a n d P a u l in C r a c o w , 1596­1633 (fig. 3), a n d Jan F r a n k i e w i c z ' s c h u r c h of Saint C a s i m i r in Vilnius, 1604­16, w e r e p a t t e r n e d u p o n t h e Jesuit m o t h e r c h u r c h , t h e G e s u , in R o m e . Its m o d i f i e d p l a n w a s a l s o u s e d in t h e a r c h i t e c t u r e of t h e D i s c a l c e d

C a r m e l i t e s , f r e q u e n t l y in a m o s t i n d i v i d u a l a n d s o p h i s t i c a t e d m a n n e r , as is e v i d e n c e d , for instance, b y t h e c h u r c h of Saint T h e r e s a in Vilnius b y C. Tencalla, 1635­50, o r b y t h a t of C h r i s t t h e S a v i o r at W i s n i c z N o w y by M a t t e o T r a p p o l a , 1631­35. T h e o l d e s t c h u r c h e s of t h e Jesuits a n d Discalced C a r m e l i t e s w e r e f o u n d e d b y t h e k i n g a n d p r o m i ­ n e n t m a g n a t e s w h o e m p l o y e d for their c o n s t r u c t i o n o u t s t a n d i n g a r c h i t e c t s f r e s h f r o m Italy. T h a n k s to t h e m t h e f a c a d e s of t h e c h u r c h of Saints P e t e r a n d P a u l in C r a c o w , 1619­30, a n d of t h e C a r m e l i t e c h u r c h of O u r L a d y of L o r e t o in L v o v b y G. B. Gisleni, a f t e r 1650, r e c e i v e d i m p r e s s i v e s o l u t i o n s m o d e l e d o n C a r l o M a d e r n a ' s w o r k s : plastic,

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3. Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Cracow, 1 5 9 6 - 1 6 3 3

T h e f e n c e of the parvis in front of the church, built in the y e a r s 1715-22 by the architect Kacper Bazanka a n d e m b e l l i s h e d w i t h figures sculpted b y D a v i d H e e l , is an excellent e x a m p l e of the u s e of scenic corrections in high b a r o q u e architecture.

A R C H I T E C T U R E I N P O L A N D 8 7

4. T y l m a n v a n G a m e r e n , architect, Baldassare Fontana, interior, Saint Anne's Church, Cracow, 1 6 8 9 - 1 7 0 3

Altars of complex architectural structure, h u n d r e d s of stucco sculptures, and exuberant ornamental dec­

oration are in perfect harmony with the elaborate architecture of the church in the Berninesque spirit.

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chiaroscuro articulation, fleshy stone detail, and massive sculptural volutes. In the deco­

ration of the interiors of those churches a particular role was played by stucco, Giovanni Battista Falconi's work in the Jesuit church in Cracow and in that of the Discalced Carmelites at Wisnicz Nowy being distinguished by a wealth of fanciful ornamental motifs. It is worth noting that in the 1630s and 1640s this artist decorated another dozen­odd churches in Little Poland and Red Ruthenia, thereby frequently modifying the simple interiors of small churches and chapels in a radical manner. In monastic and parish churches more traditional forms characteristic of the architecture in the Habsburg countries were adopted; their bodies were given the functional form of a basilica with a gallery as at G. Briano's Jesuit church in Lvov, 1610­36, the Dominican church at Zolkiew, 1653­55, and the Jesuit church at Swieta Lipka, 1688­93.

In the last quarter of the seventeenth century a central plan by Tylman van Gameren was becoming popular in Roman Catholic sacred architecture. Tylman applied the Greek­cross plan to build effective churches surmounted by monumental domes, seen in the church of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in Warsaw, 1689­95, and the Bernardine church at Czerniakow, 1690­92. Flat but distinct articulation fol­

lowing the classical orders imparted a strong classicizing character to these structures.

When designing the church of Saint Anne in Cracow, 1689­1703 (fig. 4), Tylman mod­

ernized the traditional longitudinal church scheme as well. He varied here the mode of shaping and lighting particular bays, at the same time modulating the system of interior articulation by means of ingenious adjustments. His outstanding implemen­

tations inaugurated a classicizing current in Roman Catholic Church architecture in

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5. Kacper Baianka, C/m/r/i of the Lazarist Missionaries, Cracow, 1719-28

This church, built by a Polish architect educated at the Roman Accademia di San Luca, is an effective, eclectic composition of motifs borrowed from the architecture of the Eternal City. The interior, mod­

eled on the the chapel of the Colleggio di Propaganda Fide, is distinguished by its intricate luminous effects created by mirrors directing light precisely into the dark chapels.

Poland. Tylman's followers in the eighteenth century continued his characteristic forms, supplementing them with new solutions such as the facade scheme following the colossal order derived from Andrea Palladio's work, which was very popular in Poland until as late as the close of the century.

The influence of the Roman and northern Italian high baroque in Polish church architecture appeared in several stages. Toward the end of the seventeenth century church interiors began to exhibit combined architectural, sculptured, and painted motifs similar to Gianlorenzo Bernini's works. The practice of composite interior decoration was introduced into Poland by prominent Italian architect/decorators such as Baldassare Fontana in the arrangement of the interior of the church of Saint Anne in Cracow, 1693-1703, and Pietro Perti in the interior of the church of Saints Peter and Paul in Vilnius, completed in 1686. In order to impart dynamic qualities to the space of church interiors, the artist introduced to them free-standing columns, for example B.

Wasowski's Jesuit church in Poznah, 1677-1701, forming coulisse-like, scenographic compositions that recalled structures by Baldassare Longhena, Andrea Pozzo, and the Bibienas. An exceptionally high artistic quality was achieved in the composite arrange­ ments of church interiors created by Kacper Bazanka on the basis of models drawn from Bernini, Borromini, and Pozzo, such as the church of the Premonstratensian Nuns at Imbramowice, after 1711­20, and the Lazarist church in Cracow, 1719­28 (fig. 5). An important role in bringing out the qualities of these arrangements was played by light directed through an intricate system of openings and mirrors.

A R C H I T E C T U R E I N P O L A N D

6. P o m p e o Ferrari, Interior a n d Plan, Cistercian Church, Lad, 1728-35

T h e n a v e , w i t h a c o m p l e x g r o u n d p l a n c o v e r e d b y an u n u s u a l , lofty d o m e , is d i s t i n g u i s h e d by its care­

f u l l y c o n s i d e r e d s p a t i a l c o m p o s i t i o n , i n c l u d i n g e f f e c t i v e " o p e n s t r u c t u r e s " c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of l a t e b a r o q u e a r c h i t e c t u r e d e v e l o p e d u n d e r the i n f l u e n c e of the w o r k of F r a n c e s c o B o r r o m i n i a n d G u a r i n o G u a r i n i .

7. Jan d e Witte, Interior a n d Plan, Dominican Church, Lvov, 1 7 4 5 ­ 5 9

T h e interior of t h e s p a c i o u s oval n a v e h a s a c q u i r e d a h i g h l v plastic c h a r a c t e r t h a n k s to p a i r s of c o l u m n s c a r r y i n g the e n t a b l a t u r e s t r o n g l y f o r w a r d a n d back­

w a r d . A b o v e t h e c o l u m n s s t a n d e f f e c t i v e w o o d e n f i g u r e s optically " s u p p o r t i n g " the s m a l l e r c o l u m n s i n s i d e t h e d r u m , in this original m a n n e r realizing the b a r o q u e c o n c e p t of the u n i t y of v i s u a l arts.

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From the early eighteenth century some Polish churches were built on a curvilinear plan based on a sequence of ovals modeled upon the structures of Borromini and Guarino Guarini. This solution, especially popular in Great Poland and in the eastern regions of the Commonwealth, was transferred directly from the source by the Italian architects active in Poland, including P. Ferrari in the body of the Cistercian church at La_d, 1728-35 (fig. 6), Paolo Antonio Fontana in the church of the Benedictine nuns at Drohiczyn, 1734-38, and Francesco Placidi. It also reached Poland via Bohemia, appearing in the work of the architects who came from the Habsburg countries such as K. M. Franz in the parish church at Rydzyna, 1746-50, J. Horsch in the parish church at Puchaczow, 1778-86, and B. Meretyn.

The impact of the Italian high baroque was also discernible in the forms of church facades. The Borrominesque idea of a concave-convex-concave facade was imple­

mented in the 1720s in the structures of P. Ferrari, P. A. Fontana, and C. A. Bay. The last­mentioned architect, active in Mazovia and Podlasie, enhanced the sculptural character of undulating facades by a profusion of columns set against the wall in the Piarist church at Lowicz, 1720­47. Numerous such facades were erected until as late as the 1750s, their forms exhibiting with time attempts to make them lighter and more decorative; see for example P. Gizycki's Jesuit church at Krzemieniec, 1731^6, and F.

Placidi's Trinitarian church in Cracow, 1752­58.

The solutions characteristic of the Roman high baroque appeared also in monu­

mental, spatial colonnaded altars constructed by prominent architects working in the Commonwealth. An extraordinary configuration was adopted in Vilnius churches in which several or a dozen­odd sumptuous altars were linked together into a singular decorative network covering the entire interior of the church as in J. C. Glaubitz' arrangement of the interior of the church of Saint John, 1744­45, and Franz Hoffer's design of the interior of the church of the Holy Spirit, 1753­60.

The turn of the 1730s and 1740s saw the appearance in Polish sacred architecture, along with Italian inspirations, of strong Austrian and Bohemian influences. The plan of the church of Saint Charles Borromeo in Vienna, based on an oval surrounded by a ring of chapels, was repeated in the churches put u p by P. A. Fontana in Lublin envi­

rons including the Paulite church at Wlodawa, 1741­80, and the Piarist church at Chetm, 1753­63. The most striking adaptation of this scheme was the Dominican church in Lvov designed by J. De Witte and built in 1745­59 (fig. 7). De Witte intro­

duced here such unusual solutions as a facade in the form of a magnified Dientzenhofer motif (an aedicule with columns and a broken segmental pediment) and wooden figures set into the articulation system of the nave interior.

In the years around the middle of the eighteenth century, characteristic high baroque solutions, especially the complex spatial disposition of the interior and the sculptural treatment of a church block, began to disappear from Roman Catholic churches. Churches were given the simple form of halls as in the Jesuit church at Chojnice, 1733­34, by Johann Zelner or of basilicas as in B. Meretyn's Transfiguration Church at Tarnogrod, 1751­71, with their interiors strongly integrated by means of slender, delicate pillars and uniform intense lighting. Under the influence of French regency architecture and the Austro­Bohemian "decorative style," the articulation of the outer walls of churches was reduced to linear, sparsely spaced pilasters or pilaster strips.

Their extensive surfaces formed a background for a display of lavish, mostly rococo

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8. Greek-Catlwlic Church, Rownia, 1 7 0 0 - 1 7 5 0

This small church is representative of the forms used for h u n d r e d s of w o o d e n Uniate churches erected in the eastern provinces of Poland. The builders m a d e u s e of the traditional division of an Orthodox church into three parts, giving each of them a fanciful d o m e d covering, which w a s responsible for the effective "jagged" silhouette of the m o d e s t structure.

decoration. Outstanding examples of such solutions are provided by the architecture of Red Ruthenia, especially by B. Meretyn's churches of slender form decorated with characteristic openwork vases, as in the parish church at Hodowica, 1751-58. A predilection for openwork and vertical forms also found expression in the structure of the Vilnius churches erected or remodeled by J. C. Glaubitz, for example the church of the Benedictine nuns, 1742-46, or the Lazarist missionary church, 1750-57. This architect enriched church blocks by tall towers pierced with large openings and by many-storied gables of complex undulating outline.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries a great many Roman Catholic churches in the Polish territories were built of timber. It was sometimes attempted to adapt to their forms the complex layouts of spaces used in the contemporary brick structures by giving them a form resembling a basilica such as the parish church at Tomaszow Lubelski, c. 1727, or the parish church at Szalowa, 1739-56, or by building them on the central plan seen in the church of Saint Margaret in Cracow, 1680-90. In the church at Mnichow (1765-70) there is even an attempt to imitate the complex forms of the Cracow church of Saint Anne, including its monumental dome.

The architecture of the Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries continued the spatial dispositions evolved in the Byzantine- Slavonic ecclesiastical structures of the Middle Ages. The most magnificent Orthodox churches used the Greek cross plan, for example the Orthodox church of Saints Peter and Paul in Kamieniec Podolski, c. 1580, the Orthodox church of Saint Onoufrius at Husiatyn, c. 1600, or the longitudinal plan of a structure consisting of three members, each for the most part surmounted by a dome. Those traditional edifices usually received a modern-style mantle based on clear-cut divisions following the classical order and on effective late mannerist masonry decoration as in Paolo Dominici's Walachian church, 1591-1629, and the Chapel of Three Saints in Lvov, after 1671. The scheme of a tripar­

tite church was adapted to timber Orthodox architecture (fig. 8). In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was repeated in hundreds of Orthodox churches whose domes were at times transmuted into fanciful slender tops of elaborate outline.

Around 1700 the last Orthodox dioceses in the Commonwealth accepted the union with the Holy See. The synod of the Greek Catholic Church convened in 1720 at Zamosc decreed that the Uniate liturgy should be modified to resemble the Roman Catholic rite. This was followed by the occidentalization of the forms of Uniate churches, which began to look like Roman Catholic churches. The largest of them were built on a plan recalling that of the Gesu or were given a basilican layout, their facades receiving a pair of tall towers as at the cathedral at Chelm, 1735­56. Inside, similarly as in Roman Catholic churches, monumental altars decorated with sculpture were set up.

The Greek Catholic cathedral in Lvov by B. Meretyn, 1743­72 (fig. 9), was distin­

guished by the rococo elegance of its slender body and by the exceptionally felicitous sculptured decoration of its facade. The Uniate churches designed by J. C. Glaubitz, including the cathedral at Polock, 1738­65, and the Basilian church at Berezwecz, 1750­67, amaze by the lightness of their openwork towers and slender gables, as do this architect's churches in Vilnius. In the eighteenth century baroque forms became evident in Armenian churches as well, which is evidenced by the effective interior of the church at Stanistawow (1742­62), filled with freestanding columns reminiscent of the Roman Santa Maria in Campitelli built by Carlo Rainaldi.

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The rococo b o d y of the cathedral, especially its undulating facade, is an excellent example of adapta­

tion to Orthodox Church building of the solutions characteristic of western European baroque architec­

ture. Contrary to the Orthodox tradition, the Greek Catholics in Poland even decorated their churches with sculpture such as these superb statutes by Johann Georg Pinsel in the facade of this cathedral.

A R C H I T E C T U R E I N P O L A N D 93

F

10. Synagogue, Zotkiew, c. 1650

The compact block of the synagogue, corresponding with the character of its interior adapted to the needs of the traditional Judaic liturgy, is entirely different from Renaissance and early baroque Christian churches built in Poland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Nonetheless, on the ele­

vations of the structure there appear motifs generally employed in the Polish architecture of that period such as the high parapet crowned with picturesque cresting.

T h e b u i l d i n g of L u t h e r a n a n d C a l v i n i s t c h u r c h e s in t h e s e v e n t e e n t h a n d e i g h ­ t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s m e t w i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e obstacles, as, a m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s , it r e q u i r e d t h e a p p r o v a l of a R o m a n C a t h o l i c b i s h o p w h o in m o s t cases c o n s e n t e d to t h e e r e c t i o n of o n l y t e m p o r a r y s t r u c t u r e s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , stately P r o t e s t a n t edifices, albeit f e w in n u m b e r , w e r e p u t u p in t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y ; t h e i r f o r m s clearly r e f e r r e d to G o t h i c a r c h i t e c t u r e as in M a r c i n W o y d a ' s c h u r c h of Saint J o h n at L e s z n o , 1652­54. In n o r t h ­ e r n L i t h u a n i a , P r o t e s t a n t c h u r c h e s u s u a l l y t o o k t h e f o r m of a n aisleless s t r u c t u r e w i t h a t o w e r o n t h e axis of t h e f a c a d e a s at D e l t u v a , 1 6 2 9 ­ 3 8 , a n d at K e l m e , 1660­70, p r o ­ v i d e d w i t h o g i v a l w i n d o w s . P r o t e s t a n t s a c r e d a r c h i t e c t u r e o w e s its h i g h b a r o q u e s o l u t i o n s to P. F e r r a r i , w h o in 1685 d e s i g n e d t h e c h u r c h of t h e H o l y C r o s s at L e s z n o . H e r e t h e n a v e , o n t h e p l a n of t w o i n t e r p e n e t r a t i n g o v a l s , h a s b e e n i n s c r i b e d in t h e rectangle of t h e m a i n w a l l s to e n s u r e e n o u g h r o o m for s p a c i o u s galleries. T h e i m p r e s s i v e c h u r c h of the H o l y Spirit in T o r u h by Efraim Schroeger, 1753­56, resembled c o n t e m p o r a r y R o m a n Catholic c h u r c h e s in its clear­cut hall, spatial disposition, a n d the elegance of its slender b o d y w i t h a fanciful gable.

S y n a g o g u e s , a d a p t e d to t h e n e e d s of J u d a i c rites, totally d i f f e r e d f r o m C h r i s t i a n c h u r c h e s . A s y n a g o g u e c o n s i s t e d of t h e m e n ' s hall, as a r u l e built o n a s q u a r e p l a n , w i t h a d j a c e n t a n n e x e s , t h e w o m e n ' s gallery, a n d a cheder. T h e bimah (pulpit) s i t u a t e d in t h e c e n t e r of t h e m e n ' s hall in t h e s i x t e e n t h c e n t u r y w a s m a r k e d b y a n o p e n w o r k iron grating. F r o m a b o u t 1620 a m a s s i v e pillar w a s p l a c e d in t h e m i d d l e of a s y n a g o g u e , h o l l o w e d o u t to c o n t a i n a bimah o p e n i n g w i t h f o u r a r c h e s a n d v a u l t e d b y a k i n d of b l i n d d o m e a s a t L u c k , 1 6 2 6 ­ 2 8 , o r at S f o n i m a n d T y k o c i n , b o t h 1642. In t h e s a m e p e r i o d s y n a g o g u e s b e g a n to b e s u r m o u n t e d b y p a r a p e t s (fig. 10) a n d to a c q u i r e a n e a r l y b a r o q u e m a n t l e , t h e i r e l e v a t i o n s r e c e i v i n g t h e a r t i c u l a t i o n t h a t f o l l o w e d t h e classical o r d e r s a n d t h e i r v a u l t s s t u c c o n e t w o r k o r n a m e n t a t i o n , f o r e x a m p l e at S z c z e b r z e s z y n , c. 1620, Z a m o s c , b e f o r e 1630, a n d L e c z n a , b e f o r e 1648. T h e f o r m of s y n ­ a g o g u e s d i d n o t in p r i n c i p l e alter until t h e m i d d l e of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y , w h e n t h e bimah b e g a n to b e s u r r o u n d e d b y f o u r v e r y s l e n d e r pillars s u c h as at T a r n o g r o d , c.

1760. T h i s p e r m i t t e d s p a t i a l i n t e g r a t i o n of t h e interior, t h e n c e f o r t h r e s e m b l i n g c h u r c h interiors of that time, filled w i t h i n t e n s e light p a s s i n g b e t w e e n delicate s u p p o r t s . Besides, in t h e e a s t e r n r e g i o n s of t h e Polish C o m m o n w e a l t h , large w o o d e n s y n a g o g u e s w e r e built w i t h s o m e t i m e s e l a b o r a t e s t r u c t u r a l s o l u t i o n s e m p l o y e d , a n e x a m p l e b e i n g at G r o d n o , s e c o n d half of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y .

O n a c c o u n t of s o m e s i m i l a r i t y b e t w e e n t h e K a r a i t e religion a n d J u d a i s m , K a r a i t e kenessahs a s s u m e d f o r m s r e s e m b l i n g t h o s e of s y n a g o g u e s . Built e x c l u s i v e l y of t i m b e r , t h e s e w e r e m o d e s t s t r u c t u r e s o n t h e s q u a r e p l a n w i t h a p u l p i t p l a c e d in t h e m i d d l e of t h e p r a y e r hall. T a t a r s a c r e d a r c h i t e c t u r e w a s just as m o d e s t . W o o d e n m o s q u e s w e r e e r e c t e d o n t h e central p l a n , c r o w n e d b y d o m e s , a n d p r o v i d e d w i t h a d j a c e n t t o w e r ­ m i n a r e t s as at S l o n i m , L u k i s z k i n e a r Vilnius, a n d K r u s z y n i a n y .

M e d i e v a l r e s i d e n c e s b u i l t in t h e Polish l a n d s h a d t h e f o r m of a castle, t h a t is a fortified s t r u c t u r e c o m p o s e d of a n u m b e r of w i n g s e n c l o s i n g a c o u r t y a r d . T h e castles w e r e re­

i n f o r c e d b y m i g h t y g a t e t o w e r s , a n g l e t o w e r s , a n d b a t t l e m e n t s s u r m o u n t i n g t h e walls.

In t h e s i x t e e n t h c e n t u r y castles of this k i n d b e g a n to lose their m i l i t a r y v a l u e , o w i n g to t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of artillery. A r o u n d 1600 o n l y t h e h u g e castles b u i l t in t h e s o u t h e a s t ­ e r n b o r d e r l a n d of t h e Polish C o m m o n w e a l t h retained their d e f e n s i v e f u n c t i o n , since

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t h e y w e r e i n t e n d e d as a r e f u g e for t h e local p e o p l e in case of a p l u n d e r i n g r a i d b y t h e T a t a r s , w h o d i d n o t u s e f i r e a r m s .

In t h e r e m a i n i n g p r o v i n c e s of P o l a n d , t a k i n g u p r e s i d e n c e in a castle w a s a s y m­ bolic g e s t u r e . G r e a t f a m i l i e s w i t h p r i d e in their k n i g h t l y t r a d i t i o n d i d n o t w a n t t o a b a n d o n t h e castles, t h e i r " f a m i l y n e s t s . " F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e n e w m e m b e r s of t h e g e n ­ t r y w e r e e a g e r to b u y t h e castles of t h e a n c i e n t f a m i l i e s t h a t h a d d i e d o u t , t h e r e b y s e e k i n g t h e l e g i t i m i z a t i o n of t h e i r social p o s i t i o n . T h e f o r m s of m e d i e v a l c a s t l e s w e r e t h o r o u g h l y m o d e r n i z e d , t h e i r c o u r t y a r d s b e i n g s u r r o u n d e d b y a r c a d e d galleries a n d l a t e m a n n e r i s t s t o n e w o r k d e t a i l s as in M. T r a p p o l a ' s r e m o d e l i n g of t h e castle at W i s n i c z N o w y , c. 1615­21. It also h a p p e n e d t h a t in t h e central p r o v i n c e s of t h e P o l i s h s t a t e n e w castles w e r e e r e c t e d f r o m f o u n d a t i o n s as s y m b o l s of their o w n e r s ' k n i g h t l y t r a d i t i o n s a n d virtues. S t r u c t u r e s of this k i n d ostentatiously exhibited p s e u d o ­ d e f e n s i v e s o l u t i o n s s u c h as g a t e t o w e r s , a n g l e t o w e r s , r o w s of l o o p h o l e s , o r p o r t a l s s t y l i z e d to r e s e m b l e f o r t i f i e d g a t e w a y s . A r e s i d e n c e of t h e palazzo in fortezza t y p e , a k i n d of castle a d a p t e d to t h e n e w f a s h i o n , w a s v e r y p o p u l a r in t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h . T h e d w e l l i n g h o u s e s t h u s laid o u t w e r e p r o t e c t e d b y a r i n g of bastions. T h e m o s t i m p r e s s i v e r e s i d e n c e of t h i s t y p e w a s K r z y z t o p o r Castle, 1631­44, r e m a r k a b l e for its i m m e n s i t y a n d t h e m a n n e r i s t a r r a n g e m e n t of c o u r t y a r d s p a c e (fig. 11).

T h e first q u a r t e r of t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y s a w i m p o r t a n t c h a n g e s in t h e s p a t i a l a r r a n g e m e n t of r e s i d e n t i a l b u i l d i n g s . M e d i e v a l castles w e r e s p o r a d i c a l l y i m i t a t e d , b u t t o w a r d t h e e n d of t h e sixteenth c e n t u r y there a p p e a r e d palaces of villa t y p e , a n e x a m p l e b e i n g Santi G u c c i ' s p a l a c e at K s i a z Wielki, 1585­95. A r o u n d 1630, P o l i s h r e s i d e n t i a l a r c h i t e c t u r e d i s p l a y e d r e m a r k a b l y g r a n d e r s p a t i a l s o l u t i o n s , p o p u l a r i z e d c h i e f l y b y C. Tencalla a n d o t h e r Italian a r c h i t e c t s c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e r o y a l c o u r t . B e t w e e n 1635 a n d 1645 t h e y r a i s e d n u m e r o u s p a l a c e s for t h e k i n g s a n d p r o m i n e n t m a g n a t e s of t h e C o m m o n w e a l t h . In t h o s e p a l a c e s t h e d o u b l e ­ p i l e a r r a n g e m e n t w a s e m p l o y e d , f o l l o w i n g t h e p a t t e r n s d r a w n f r o m t h e treatises of P a l l a d i o a n d Serlio. T h e elevations of t h e s e b u i l d i n g s w e r e e n r i c h e d b y e l e g a n t s t o n e w o r k d e c o r a t i o n a n d s p a r i n g l y a p p l i e d articu­

lation f o l l o w i n g t h e classical o r d e r s . L o c a t i n g t o w e r s at t h e c o r n e r s of p a l a c e s w a s to m a k e t h e m l o o k l i k e c a s t l e s a n d t h e r e b y a c q u i r e t h e s y m b o l i c c h a r a c t e r of s e a t s of d e f e n d e r s of t h e m o t h e r c o u n t r y .

11. Ground Plan a n d R u i n s of Krzyztopor Castle, U j a z d , 1 6 3 1 ­ 4 4

T h i s g i g a n t i c c a s t l e w i t h a n i n t r i c a t e m a n n e r i s t s p a t i a l a r r a n g e m e n t w a s e n c i r c l e d b y b a s t i o n f o r t i ­ f i c a t i o n s , t h e e n t r a n c e b e i n g g u a r d e d b y a m i g h t y g a t e t o w e r . T h e s e d e f e n s e s s y m b o l i z e d in a s p e c i f i c w a y t h e c h i v a l r o u s v i r t u e s of t h e o w n e r s of t h e castle, t h e O s s o l i n s k i f a m i l y . H o w e v e r , in t h e m i d d l e of t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y t h e y w e r e u n a b l e to w i t h s t a n d t h e c h a l l e n g e of c o n t e m p o r a r y m i l i t a r y t e c h n o l o g y , a s t h e castle w a s r e d u c e d to r u i n s d u r i n g a brief siege b y t h e S w e d i s h a r m y .

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12. Tylman van Gameren, Krasinski Palace, Warsaw, 1 6 8 9 - 9 5

This structure is typical of this designer's palaces, w h i c h g a v e rise to a n e w t e n d e n c y in Polish resi­

dential architecture. T y l m a n , u n d e r the i n f l u e n c e of Palladian c o n c e p t s and s e v e n t e e n t h ­ c e n t u r y classicizing D u t c h architecture, w o r k e d o u t the characteristic f o r m of palaces, w h o s e c o m p a c t structure w a s enriched w i t h a flat pilaster portico on the axis of the building.

Palace architecture of the second half of the seventeenth century was almost com­

pletely dominated by the classicizing works of Tylman van Gameren. This architect adapted his designs to local custom, adding towers to the corners of palaces. He intro­

duced novel solutions borrowed from his native Dutch architecture such as the flat pilastered portico on the axis of a palace facade in the Krasinski Palace in Warsaw, 1689­95 (fig. 12). He also drew on French patterns, introducing the motif of an oval drawing room partly projecting from the outer wall of a palace as at the palace at Pulawy, 1671­79. He was the first architect in the Polish kingdom to consistently locate palaces entre com et jardin, accentuating the difference between the stately front and the more freely treated garden elevation. Moreover, he referred to the Polish architectural tradition by emphasizing the corners of buildings with towers.

King John III Sobieski, fascinated with the personality of Louis XIV, commissioned Augustyn Locci to refashion his favorite residence at Wilanow in 1679­92 on the model of the French monarch's celebrated residence at Versailles. The eighteenth century saw the appearance in Polish lands of numerous grand magnate residences that also imi­

tated the palace of Versailles: J. S. Deybel and J. H. Klemm's Bialystok, 1728­71, Jakub

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Fontana's Radzyn Podlaski, 1752-66, and P. Ricaud de Tirregaille's Krystynopol, 1756-61. Likewise, the architecture of more modest palaces was dominated by solu­

tions of French provenance, introduced above all in the second quarter of that century by Saxon architects from the Bauamt in Warsaw. They readily employed the motif of an oval drawing room projecting from the outer wall of a building. They frequently segmented the block of a palace into several parts, each covered with its own mansard roof, in imitation of French regency residential architecture. The designers of these palaces practically relinquished elaborate elevations lest the viewer's attention be distracted from the effective overall impression created by the building, a good ex­

ample being J. S. Deybel's Przebendowski Palace in Warsaw, before 1729. Sometimes an entirely different procedure was adopted, whereby palaces formed simple cubic blocks enlivened by rich ornamental and figural decoration in imitation of residences in the Habsburg countries and in southern Germany. Examples include Karl Heinrich Wiedemann's summer palace in Rzeszow, 1737­^6, and the Branicki Palace in Warsaw, remodeled around 1740.

When planning residential complexes, models were also sought in sixteenth­

century treatises. Among others, Palladio's ideas were used, quadrantal galleries being added to the sides of palaces such as Labunie, after 1744. F. Placidi built a palace at Grabki (c. 1742) on a bizarre plan of a windmill borrowed from Serlio's treatise.

The simplest but most widespread kind of residence in Poland was the manor house, a relatively small, single­story building erected mainly by the less affluent gentry.

In their form manor houses imitated, as far as modest means allowed, the solutions used in the contemporary palace architecture, such as the Palladian double­pile disposition of rooms or a drawing room partly projecting from the outer wall of a building. Manor­

house blocks were often enriched by alcoves, a specific reduced version of towers, and by the so­called broken roof, a simplified kind of mansard roof as seen in a manor house at Ozarow, 1756.

L I T E R A T U R E

Dmochowski 1956; Karpowicz 1983; Karpowicz 1987; Karpowicz 1990; J. Kowalczyk, "Gtowne problemy badan nad architektura. poznobarokowa. w Koronie i na Litwie," Kwartalnik Architektury i Urbamsh/ki 40 (1995),. 175­213; A.

Milobedzki, Architektura polska XVII ivieku (Warsaw, 1980); Milobedzki 1994; Mossakowski 1994.